2023 Issue 4 Jul/Aug Focus - Mid-South Magazine

lgbt advocate
INCLUSIVE SPANISH
An Interview with Liz Coffield of LC Spanish
by Tiffany Day
Memphis-based Spanish instructor Liz Coffield has
been studying Spanish since she was just six years old:
she attended a bilingual elementary school, earned a B.A.
in Hispanic Studies from Macalester College in St. Paul,
Minnesota, and has lived abroad in both Mexico and Spain.
Prior to teaching Spanish, Liz worked as an administrative
professional and translator in immigration law. Liz is
passionate about teaching, passionate about Spanish, and
passionate about inclusivity in her classroom.
First, tell us a little about
yourself: What sparked
your interest in Spanish,
and how did you come into
teaching this language?
Spanish is not my native
or heritage language,
but I did start learning it
when I was very young
and I never stopped! As a
child, my parents put me
in a Spanish-immersion
elementary school where
half my day was taught
in Spanish and the other
half was taught in English.
When I was about sixteen
years old, I read Isabel
Allende’s La Casa de Los
Espíritus in Spanish and
decided I wanted to study
Latin America in college.
I went on to get my BA
in Hispanic Studies from
Macalester College—where
I also had the opportunity
to study abroad in Mexico.
In 2022, I burned out
working as a paralegal
at an immigration law
firm and decided to
take a chance on an
idea I had been kicking
around for several years.
I had previously led adult
Spanish classes at the
International Institute
of Minnesota, where
I first fell in love with
teaching and creating
my own curriculum.
Working in immigration
law, I had noticed a
marked difference in the
effectiveness and rapport
that Spanish-speaking
attorneys had with their
clients. I saw launching
LC Spanish online as a
way I could help improve
language access for
Spanish-speakers by
teaching the language
to people-centered
professionals all over the
country.
I just hit my one-year
anniversary of teaching
with LC Spanish, and I am
so proud of the courses I've
created and the community
of students I've built.
What got you interested
in exploring options for
more inclusivity in the
language?
I first remember genderinclusive
language
being a topic of debate
when I was in college.
My professors often
discussed the feasibility
of different variations in
terms of pronunciation
and grammatical structure,
as well as their concerns
about inclusive language
being confusing to
students as they were
learning a new language.
Now, seven years later,
32 Memphis Green | JUL+AUG 2023 | focuslgbt.com